Today is the 364th day of 2012 and the ninth day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1170, Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered.

In 1940, Germany dropped hundreds of incendiary bombs on London.

In 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Charles Goodyear (1800-1860), inventor; Andrew Johnson (1808-1875), 17th U.S. president; William Gladstone (1809-1898), British prime minister; Mary Tyler Moore (1936- ), actress; Jon Voight (1938- ), actor; Ted Danson (1947- ), actor; Patricia Clarkson (1959- ), actress; Jude Law (1972- ), actor; Danny McBride (1976- ), actor/comedian; Alison Brie (1982- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1978, Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes punched a Clemson player who had just intercepted a pass during the Gator Bowl. Hayes was fired the next day.

TODAY'S FACT: OSHA imposed the largest fine in agency history on Oct. 30, 2009, assessing $87 million in penalties against oil company BP. A 2005 explosion at the company's refinery in Texas killed 15 workers.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Here is my first principle of foreign policy: good government at home." -- William Gladstone

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 -- years that Thomas Becket spent in exile (1164-1170) for refusing to acquiesce to new laws set by Henry II.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 28) and last quarter moon (Jan. 4).

Today is the 363rd day of 2012 and the eighth day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1832, John C. Calhoun became the first U.S. vice president to resign his office.

In 1912, San Francisco's first municipally owned streetcars began service.

In 1945, Congress formally recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 1981, the first American "test-tube baby" was born in Norfolk, Va.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), 28th U.S. president; Stan Lee (1922- ), comic book creator/publisher; Maggie Smith (1934- ), actress; Denzel Washington (1954- ), actor; Gayle King (1954- ), magazine editor; Linus Torvalds (1969- ), software engineer; Seth Meyers (1973- ), comedian/actor; John Legend (1978- ), musician; Sienna Miller (1981- ), actress; David Archuleta (1990- ), singer.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1958, the Baltimore Colts came from behind in the final seconds to force the first sudden death overtime in a championship game. The Colts went on to win "The Greatest Game Ever Played," defeating the New York Giants 23-17 to win the NFL championship.

TODAY'S FACT: "Marvel Comics" was the first pulp fantasy comic book series published by Timely Comics, debuting in October 1939. Timely Comics editor Stan Lee reincorporated the name in 1961, publishing all of the company's comic books under the brand name Marvel Comics.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "America is not anything if it consists of each of us. It is something only if it consists of all of us." -- Woodrow Wilson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 5,905 -- sets of triplets born in the United States in 2009, a huge increase over 2,830 in 1990. The general upward trend is thought to be largely the result of fertility treatments.

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (Dec. 28).

Today is the 362nd day of 2012 and the seventh day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1831, the HMS Beagle, with naturalist Charles Darwin aboard, set sail from Great Britain.

In 2002, North Korea announced it would resume developing nuclear-grade plutonium and ordered International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to leave the country.

In 2007, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated after a campaign rally in Rawalpindi.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), astronomer; Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), biologist/chemist; Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), actress/singer; John Amos (1939- ), actor; Cokie Roberts (1943- ), journalist; Gerard Depardieu (1948- ), actor; Sarah Vowell (1969- ), social commentator; Masi Oka (1974- ), actor; Carson Palmer (1979- ), football player; Cole Hamels (1983- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2004, retired NFL defensive end Reggie White died of cardiac arrhythmia at age 43. White, who remains second on the career sack list with 198.5, was voted to the Pro Bowl 13 times during his 15-year career and was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 2006.

TODAY'S FACT: France is far more reliant on nuclear power than any other nation in the world. More than 75 percent of the country's electricity is nuclear-generated.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses." -- Johannes Kepler

TODAY'S NUMBER: 3,300 -- approximate number of people buried at Westminster Abbey, many of them in unmarked graves. Charles Darwin is among the famous scientists buried there.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Dec. 20) and full moon (Dec. 28).